The mission field can be anywhere—whether it’s across the road, overseas, or, as a group of SCBaptist pastors saw, in the heart of our nation’s capital.  

A group of six SCBaptists on a vision trip heard from Washington, D.C.’s Send Network Church Planting Catalyst, Joseph Dicks, about the importance of reaching the city with the Gospel. “D.C. is the political capital of the country, if not the world in some cases,” Dicks said. “It’s a highly diverse area with over 100 languages spoken here,” including the city’s large Hispanic population to a growing Ethiopian community, the second-largest outside of Ethiopia itself. 

The culture and the strategic location were some of the main takeaways for Kyle Caudell, pastor of North Anderson Baptist Church. “What happens in D.C. has an effect on the rest of the world,” Caudell said. “So anytime we can strengthen churches in D.C. and help those churches impact that very influential culture around them, that’s going to have a ripple effect.” 

“I think people come in with the perception that there is a lack of Gospel work happening here,” Dicks said. In an area where the current evangelical population is only around 12.5%, the need is real, but so is the response. Send Network has over 70 active church plants at work in the city, with over half of them non-English speaking.  

“You might be looking at somebody that looks like you, that you assume is English or American, but they speak another language,” Dicks said. The nations coming to D.C. create a unique opportunity where the international mission field is closer than you think. 

Intentional Partnerships in North America 

Vision trips like this one are a key part of the Convention’s strategy to encourage churches toward national partnerships and ongoing investment in planters and ministry leaders, Tim Rice, missions partnership director at SCBaptist, explained.  

“It’s important for pastors and mission leaders to experience the local culture, religious diversity, and community contexts that we see on a vision trip,” Rice said. “There’s nothing like meeting the church planters, hearing their stories and experiencing the communities in person.” 

Since September 2025, SCBaptists have sent teams to Baltimore, New York City, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Boston to help churches and associations establish mission partnerships. In total, 162 people from 35 churches participated in those trips—including this team of six: Tim Rice, Ben Goldstein, Kyle and Annette Caudell, Terry Corder, and Joe Ogburn.

Forming a Kingdom Connection 

Caudell and North Anderson are one result of that strategy in action. Coming into D.C., the church had already held a three-year partnership with a church planter in Pittsburgh, sparked by a previous vision trip. Now, the church was looking for a new strategic area to invest in. Prior to the trip, Caudell prayed the Lord would make evident which planter he and North Anderson were meant to invest in. 

After meeting with multiple church planters, one stood out—Kenneth Jones, pastor of Redeemer City Church. “Sitting beside him at dinner and talking, the Lord just knit our hearts together,” Caudell said. What captivated Caudell most was Jones’ story, from federal prison to finding Christ to answering the call to plant a church, where the church intentionally reaches returning citizens as they transition through the challenges of reentry. 

The heart to reach returning citizens is close to Caudell—his wife, Annette, who was also on the vision trip, serves with Haven of Rest, a ministry to the most vulnerable men and women in Anderson, SC. 

What Partnership Can Look Like 

Partnership with church planters can take many forms, as Dicks can attest. “There’s multiple ways to partner, but always begin with prayer,” he said. Care packages, small donations, sending teams, or putting a line item in a church budget are all ways he sees churches support Send Network church plants. “There’s a lot of creative ways to partner,” he said.  

For North Anderson, the details of the partnership are still underway, but Caudell mentioned supporting Redeemer City through prayer groups, financial investment, and sending teams. Most of all, though, Caudell wants the partnership to start with listening—letting Redeemer City define needs and helping to meet them as those needs arise.  

Jones and Redeemer City are already feeling the effects of that partnership. “I’m grateful for the new partnership that has been formed with North Anderson Baptist Church,” Jones said. “It’s always encouraging to know that there are churches elsewhere who are supporting you and praying for you. And it’s a tangible example of the body of Christ serving together in mission.”

That mindset at North Anderson has had an impact on the congregation. “We continue to expand our Kingdom vision,” Caudell said. “We don’t minimize what’s going on right here, but the Kingdom is big. Partnerships help stretch our people on a bigger scale than just our own zip code,” he shared. For North Anderson, that zip code now stretches to D.C., with another team trip already on the calendar, and a congregation ready to support a growing church plant.